A new 'landmark' Mental Health Act could be passed as Matt Hancock admitted the current one 'does not work as well as it should'.
The current Act was put into place nearly 40 years ago and Mr Hancock said a lot has changed since then, with more understanding about mental health, and public attitudes around mental health have also changed significantly for the better.
He told the Commons: “The previous prime minister (Theresa May) asked Professor Sir Simon Wessely to lead a review into what a modern mental health act should look like and I thank her for her work.
“And I am so grateful to Sir Simon and his vice-chairs for their dedication. As I said to the House last year on its publication, the Wessely Review is one of the finest pieces of work on the treatment of mental health that has been done anywhere in the world.
“I know that the review was welcomed across the House. We committed in our manifesto to deliver the required changes and I am grateful to the Prime Minister for his emphatic support.
“Sir Simon’s review compellingly shows that the Mental Health Act does not work as well as it should for patients or for their loved ones, that the Act goes too far in removing people’s autonomy and doesn’t give people enough control over their care.”
Matt Hancock said that a white paper published by the Government sets out plans for a “landmark” new Mental Health Act.
He told MPs: “The new Act will ensure patients are put at the centre of decisions about their own care, that everyone is treated with respect and the law is only used to compel treatment where absolutely necessary.
“The white paper’s been developed in close consultation with those with the greatest expertise, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Rethink Mental Illness, Mind, the Centre for Mental Health, and countless practitioners on the front line and I thank them all.”
Mr Hancock added: “We will gave patients a voice in their own care which we know leads to better engagement in treatment.
“So we’ll put care and treatment plans and advance choice documents into statute for the first time so patients are more closely involved in the development of their care and so they can have confidence so that if they lose capacity because of illness, their preferences will be properly considered.”
